Campfire Heart
by Reader4ever1
Summary: "Just one night. A camping trip. Me and Alex out in the Blue Hills." Magnus confesses his dreams about Alex's past while they take a break from running The Chase Space. Malex. (Fierrochase) Post Ship of the Dead.


**Hey guys! I'm back with another oneshot, and since Malex (Fierrochase by some, but I think Malex sounds** _ **much**_ **better) is the new hot thing, and I got inspired, I thought, "Ah, what the heck." So here I am, writing a Malex oneshot.**

 **I want to give a HUGE shoutout/thank you to Cookie Creation on tumblr for making the beautiful cover art that gave me the idea for this story. All rights for the picture go to them. I'll leave a link on my profile so you can check out their tumblr and twitter.**

 **And another disclaimer- I do not own Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard or anything Rick Riordan. Also (already established) I did not make the cover pic. It belongs to Jacy.**

 **Hopefully obvious Ship of the Dead spoilers ahead.**

 **Enjoy.**

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There could be no other purpose for Magnus and Alex than running The Chase Space together. The single request of Odin became the biggest achievement outside of the godly world they had ever grasped.

They loved it. Every second of it. But they were getting worn out- fast.

Fall was on nature's doorstep. And it was calling to him. Both of them.

Magnus looked out at the great beyond from the roof deck of The Chase Space, the mountains far off in the distance. He recalled the many hiking trips his mother would take him on. He remembered the real smell of nature- something he hadn't quite grasped since Norway. And even then, he was on a quest that would decide the fate of the world. Doesn't really give you much time to connect with mother nature, does it?

He looked over at Alex, who was taking down paper lanterns from a party they had thrown the day before. Female today. And still wonderfully flamboyant and sarcastic.

A few weeks ago she'd come up to him and threw in a towel he forgot she had been holding on to. "Alright, Chase. I give up. I tried to stay mad at you for taking so long to sort out your feelings, but I can't anymore." She kissed him. "Not when we know one day this will all come to an end."

He agreed, one-hundred percent. Boyfriend was a title he happily accepted.

But running The Chase Space didn't leave much room for romantic dates. For the short time span they had officially been together, they hadn't had much time to enjoy each other's company.

Yet, standing there in the evening light, Magnus was struck with a determination he hadn't felt in a long time.

He pulled Hearth and Blitz aside at the next opportunity he had. "I need a break," he said, quickly gaining their attention. "Just one night. A camping trip. Me and Alex out in the Blue Hills. No worrying about magic or battle or death or the end of the world."

Blitz and Hearth stared at him.

"Please."

"Kid," Blitz scrunched his eyebrows. "If you wanted peace and quiet so bad, why didn't you ask sooner? You know we can handle this place for a day."

Magnus raised a brow. "Can you?"

Hearth rolled his eyes. _No faith. One night- we can handle_.

"Yeah." Blitzen agreed. "Go have your fun. Seriously. We got this."

Grinning, Magnus raced to find Alex.

In three days the two were standing at the foot of a trail that lead to higher elevation in the forests outside Boston.

"Are you sure this is the right one?"

Alex ("He/His, please and thank you.") looked at the map he'd acquired from the nearby ranger station. "Positive," he said.

It took them mere hours to reach their secluded campsite and unload their gear. By dusk they had a fire burning in the pit.

Magnus pulled two sandwich bags out of his backpack. "Hungry?"

"Very." Alex took one from him, sitting by the fire. He opened it and gave his boyfriend a look. "How much falafel _did_ you take from Amir?"

A blissful smile. "Enough for breakfast, lunch, _and_ dinner."

"You're so disgusting."

"Well, you need to put some weight on anyway."

"Since when?"

"Since we almost froze to death out in Niflheim. I'd rather you not be so…" he paused, gathering his thoughts. "I'd rather not repeat the experience."

Alex scanned his face, showing little clues as to what he was feeling. This was the first time Magnus had brought up their frostbitten trip to the realm of ice since they got back from defeating Loki.

Alex quirked his lips. "Well, it wasn't all bad."

Magnus snapped his gaze to the log he was sitting on. Pink dusted his cheeks, slightly hidden by the growing firelight. "Yeah, yeah." Alex playfully punched his arm. "You're lucky I love you."

"And you're lucky I accepted your-"

"Declaration of undying love," they said in unison.

Crackling wood in dancing flames. Crickets chirping in the evolving evening light.

"I know," Magnus said quietly. He ate a piece of falafel and fell into Alex's lap, tired from their hike and efforts to set up camp.

Alex gazed down at him, slightly surprised at the action. He used his free hand to pat his blonde head, using the other to eat their unlimited supply of Fadlan's Falafel.

The stars slowly started poking their way out from the abyss of space. Away from the city, the sky seemed almost iridescent; nebulas and galaxies appeared to be hovering just above the Earth's atmosphere.

Before long both were lying on the ground, Alex flat on his back and still acting as Magnus' personal human pillow. He ran his fingers through his blonde locks, satisfied with his cosmetic masterpiece.

Talk about anything and everything drifted through the trees and leaves. What little clouds there were drifted quickly out of their view of the sky.

A comfortable silence, broken only by nature's music.

A memory snuck into Magnus' brain, nearly causing him to break out in a sweat. He prayed Frey's power would make him stronger out in the wilds of Massachusetts. He breathed. _He's gonna kill me,_ he thought. Then a realization.

"Alex?"

"Why are you breaking the silence? Aren't there birds you need to eavesdrop on?"

"Are you female?"

The silence briefly returned. Her hand stilled.

"Your perceptiveness is still spot on."

He smiled. "I never got that trophy, you know."

She yanked his hair.

"Ah- ouch!" He elbowed her leg. "Okay, I deserved that. But, um… Would you believe me if I said that there's another reason I broke the silence?"

"Gods of Asgard, Magnus."

"Hear me out, please." He laced his fingers over his stomach. "And you have to promise not to kill me. Because if you do, I won't be coming back."

"I'm listening."

"And you have to save all comments and questions till I'm done."

"...Fine."

Magnus bit his lips. "Okay. Back on our quest to stop Ragnarok, I had a dream. And I think you might have been speculating this for some time. The dream… it was from your past." Her hand stilled again. "I don't know why I had it or who put it in my head, but it happened. I know how much you hate it when people get in your brain, but I couldn't control it.

"I saw you, probably from a few years ago, your hair was longer. I saw your dad…" He explained what he saw, recalling minute details and the emotions he felt when he witnessed the memory.

"That's why I asked so many questions at the pottery studio the next day, when we created Pottery Barn. Later in battle when I had to heal you… I guess our conversation got you thinking about things- but, I didn't see another memory from your family. I saw you in Valhalla with me. Eating at the cafe." He told her how at first he was confused. He didn't understand why she had that memory at the top of her brain, and he kept playing it back over and over trying to figure it out when he had the time.

"Then my incredibly slow brain got it- We were talking the night before, and you were probably wondering why I cared. And that got you thinking about my personality- and how stupid I can be.

"And yeah. I am pretty stupid sometimes. But that's why I wanted to at least say this: I don't think you're trash. I mean, obviously, since we're dating. But I don't care what other people say or think about you or me or us. I only care about what you are and what you want to be. And that is an amazing person. Seeing myself from your eyes made me realize that it's okay for me to be myself around you. And around our friends.

"And I wanted to let you know, Alex Fierro, that I will never, ever, be as smart as you. I will be dense and clueless for the rest of my dead life. And I don't plan on changing. This Magnus that you chose to be with is not going anywhere. I'm still gonna make ridiculous comments, and I'm still gonna get food stuck in my teeth.

"You can count on me to be there every step of the way. Because I meant every single word I said on the Ship of the Dead. But… don't expect me to end on some cliche note like 'I love you', okay? This is still really new to me. And, you kinda already know how I feel.

"I'm… also sorry I saw your memories without you knowing. You're probably really mad at me, but you have every right to know about it."

Silence returned. Even the bugs seemed to be waiting for Alex's response. After a count of twelve, Magnus started to worry. "Alex?"

Still nothing. But only for a moment.

"Magnus?"

"Yes?"

"Sit up for me, will you?"

He lifted the top half of his body off the ground. Before he could even look at her, she punched his shoulder. Not a playful punch like earlier. A hard one.

Magnus nearly fell over from the blow. "Gods- Alex! Are you trying to dislocate my shoulder? 'Cause I think it worked!"

"Magnus- don't ever get in my head. _Ever_ again. Not without my permission." He looked at her. The latter comment took his attention away from the pain in his arm.

Were those tear streaks running down her face? No, it had to be a trick from the firelight.

"But…" She gently put her hand on the side of his face. She kissed him.

Magnus felt as if he could feel every single one of her emotions coming through to him. Like a range of fire that consumed his body and clouded his brain. The colors from the sky beautifully danced behind his eyelids.

She pulled away to his discontent. "Thank you for not keeping secrets from me."

He gulped down air. "So… we're cool?"

"You're talking to the girl that accepted and returned your declaration-"

"-Of undying love. Yeah, yeah. You won't let that go, will you?"

She smiled. "Nope."

He took the opportunity to capture her lips again.

Sleep came a few hours later. The morning light ushered them out the woods, and soon it was back to business as usual. Alex often caught Magnus looking back at the mountains from the roof, and would shake her head, promising another trip soon. And he would always smile in agreement, then take her hand and let her lead him back down the stairs toward civilization.

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 **The end :)**

 **Once again, the links to the artist's twitter and tumblr are on my profile page, so please go check those out.**

 **Comment and/or favorite and tell people about the story. If you too call this ship Malex, I'd love to know- you can also leave guest reviews, for those who are reading and don't have accounts. And if you prefer fierrochase, that's fine too.**

 **Thank you all for reading! I'll be back with another oneshot soon enough; in the meantime go check out my Solangelo one I have up or my crossover that I am currently working on. Stay nerdy everyone! Also Happy Thanksgiving!**

 **~Reader4ever1**


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